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Friend: Teen smoked synthetic pot before death

PEACHTREE CITY, Ga.,None — Fayette County authorities are investigating the death of a 16-year-old found dead in a hot tub Sunday morning.

Autopsy results are pending, but a family friend told Channel 2's Amy Napier Viteri that Chase Burnett was smoking synthetic marijuana before he died. Viteri went to McIntosh High School in Peachtree City, where peers were mourning his loss.

"Chase would want the kids to know that this stuff spice, this synthetic marijuana, it will kill you. It will absolutely take your life," Norris Blount told Viteri.

Blount said Burnett's parents believe a synthetic marijuana product commonly referred to as "spice" is responsible for their son's death. Investigators said Burnett's parents found him early Sunday morning in the family hot tub.

Students at McIntosh High said the sophomore was an honor roll student and a soccer player who was always smiling. The school held a moment of silence in Burnett's honor Monday.

"It was just so quiet in the hallways. You could see how many people he impacted. Everybody was crying. It was really sad," a student said.

Blount said Burnett's parents want their son's tragedy to be a warning other kids of the dangers of synthetic marijuana, which is banned under Georgia law.

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